The Mid-Week Recommendation

Jeff Mangum Orange Twin Field Works Volume 1

Orange Twin Field Works is not a lost recording of Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel/Indie Cult God), but a Mangum field recording of his trip to the National Festival of Bulgarian Folklore, a three day festival of traditonal Bulgarian music in Koprivshitsa. The festival, which is held every five years, has been rapidly growing since it's formation in 1965, having nearly 15,000 performers in 2005 (take that Bonnaroo!). In 2000, two years after recording "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea," Mangum continued to frustrate his fan base by ignoring the studio, and instead, treking over 5,000 miles with only his recorder and microphone at hand ready to capture the eclectic sounds of the Bulgarian people. Instead of an album of seperate track recordings, Mangum has assembled the entire event into a thirty minute composition, having one song drift into another as ambient sounds of crowds, traffic, and general atmosphere linger in the background. The result feels like a sampling of the weekend, showcasing various instrumentations, odd rhythms, and singing styles. At times, Mangum only allows the listener a few minutes of a song before his interest moves along to something else. Sure, Mangum is fascinated by these artists, but unlike famous field recorders like Alan Lomax whose recordings are documentations of the artist, Orange Twin Field Works Volume 1 is a documentatoin of the recorder's experience.